This invention relates to dilutants for industrial herbicides intended to be used for basal bark and cut surface treatment in non-agricultural applications. More specifically, it relates to a basal oil dilutant which has an unusual ability to penetrate bark and woody plant tissue and carry a variety of herbicides along with it, as well as allowing the herbicide to move upwards within the plant through the xylem and downward within the plant through the phloem.
Dilutants presently employed are not particularly effective, have undesirable side effects, and are limited in their range of applications. Fuel oils, the most common nonagricultural dilutants, are not remarkably efficient solvents of herbicides; accordingly, large quantities of fuel oils are required to carry an operative amount of herbicide (i.e. on the order of 50-100 parts fuel oil to every 1 part herbicide), and separation may occur during storage or handling, particularly at low temperatures. Moreover, the fuel oils do not tend to readily penetrate plant bark or woody material, thus requiring either frilling or cutting work during basal bark application, or the use of very high volumes of herbicide-carrier solution. The use of fuel oils, therefore, results in large amounts of chemical waste and escalated handling and application costs. Additionally, the use of fuel oils produces offensive odors and may produce off-target damage due to drift and volatility which all are detrimental to public relations and can result in claims against the user. Additionally, the use of large quantities of fuel oil depletes the supply necessary for home and industrial heating.
Other classes of herbicides, like picolinic acid salts (e.g. Tordon K produced by Dow Chemical Company) which are used in summer foliage treatment, are not normally oil-soluble. In order to apply these herbicides, additional carriers other than fuel oils must be kept available.
An object of the present invention is to provide a dilutant which is an effective carrier of relatively high quantities of herbicides, thus minimizing costly use of large volumes of carrier solutions and their resulting potentially damaging side effects, while also minimizing use of costly spray equipment, and personnel required to transport and use large quantities of fuel oil.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a dilutant which is capable of carrying a variety of herbicides, therby eliminating the need of maintaining and transporting stocks of a number of different dilutants for different herbicides.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a dilutant which is both hydrophilic and lipophilic and capable of penetrating bark and woody plant tissue while retaining the herbicide and allowing the active ingredients to move upward within the xylem and downward through the phloem of the plant. This significantly reduces the labor and costs involved in preparing an area for treatment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a dilutant which may function as a carrier for herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and plant growth regulators.